Releases

Rapazzi – Ready To Strike

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About this album

With gut wrenching, poetic lyrics in the vein of Leonard Cohen and a vocalist with the rugged sincerity of Johnny Cash, Rapazzi is the brainchild of a gifted Brazilian composer/producer, an award-winning American lyricist, and seasoned vocalists living in Mexico. The result of their collaboration is retro Mexi-Cali infused beat generation exhortations on the meaning of life in the early 21st Century. Texas vocalists and songwriters Bobby and Leslie Sahlen first met at Pantera\u2019s recording studio in 1988. Over the years they have collaborated and shared stages with a Who’s Who of music icons. After relocating to Mexico, the couple formed MexMo San Carlos in partnership with 60\’s superstar Chris Montez. In 2011 the duo met award winning American lyricist Johnny Starburst and thus began an extraordinarily prolific songwriting odyssey. The talented Brazilian songwriter and producer Nery Bauer joined the project and the result is the transcontinental uniqueness that is Rapazzi.

Lyrics

Feather in the Wind

I was raised in the desert; though I’m trying hard to swim
I am not of your world, I am neither good nor sin
I will try to breathe the air on this land and in this place
Maybe someday rain will promise to bring comfort to bring grace

(chorus)

I'm no longer breathing at least that's the way it feels
Am I living or a spirit just a fake or something real?
When the desert meets the ocean in a moment to begin
I'll be rising past the lamp post like a feather in the wind

Neither man nor woman, neither beast or human prey
A travesty of insolence, a madman turning gray
Hot sun on my back with a cactus for a tree
I've learned to live in silence standing upright acting free

(chorus)
I'm no longer breathing at least that's the way it feels
Am I living or a spirit just a fake or something real?
When the desert meets the ocean in a moment to begin
I'll be rising past the lamp post like a feather in the wind

(bridge)
I was warm when you came calling, I turned cold when you said bye
I was no more than a whisper trying too hard not to cry
It was Autumn in the evening, it was winter thru the day.
I was leaning into trouble I was falling for delay

(chorus)
I'm no longer breathing at least that's the way it feels
Am I living or a spirit just a fake or something real?
When the desert meets the ocean in a moment to begin
I'll be rising past the lamp post like a feather in the wind

Keeper of the Truth

His warnings are inscrutable
His mysteries profound
A child devoid of principles
Unfettered and unbound
He grew beyond eternity
Was understood by all
The teacher of the universe
Stood proud and he stood tall

(chorus)

The keeper of the truth he is
With wisdom flowing free
Even fawning birds and foe
Bow to his majesty
Mankind no longer has to wait
To see why we’re alive
All the answers on display
Truth’s Keeper has arrived

Far beyond bigotry
Intolerance and hate
Impatient over ignorance &
Using fear as bait
Collectively inspiring
Consensus as a tool
Shutting out adversity
Changing all the rules
(repeat chorus

)

Photo Ops from Hell

Born without a conscience, raised without concern
Weaned on whisky promises twisted and unlearned
Childhood lost and fading; all star tragedy
Glimpses of the truth, invading what could be

Straight to Hell

There are times when blind men see with a vision un-foretold
When the righteous widows worry nearly hanging from their toes
It’s a festival of horror; it’s a crucible of shame
There are times of such sweet sorrow; life can never be the same

(chorus)

A Google of a giggle sends a gaggle of a loss
Tinted goggles of forgiveness always fail to make it posh
Heavy doses of resistance bleed internally with spells
Reeking havoc on the promise of this journey straight to hell

A Google of a giggle sends a gaggle of a loss
Tinted goggles of forgiveness always fail to make it posh
Heavy doses of resistance bleed internally with spells
Reeking havoc on the promise of this journey straight to hell

A Google of a giggle sends a gaggle of a loss
Tinted goggles of forgiveness always fail to make it posh
Heavy doses of resistance bleed internally with spells
Reeking havoc on the promise of this journey straight to hell

Manifest Destiny

Long ago in years gone by when confidence was king
Rapacious robber barons devoured everything
Building up an empire awash in blood and pain
Renouncing good intentions for the goal was only gain

(chorus)

Manifest destiny, claimed as a holy grail
Westward expansion, such a bitter trail
Treaties never mattered, devoid of any trust
Broken dreams were shattered, crumbling in the dust

Broken hearts were buried along side wounded knee
An older culture ravaged by obscene destiny
History moving forward with greater wealth amassed
You tell me that's all history, but has it really passed?

(chorus)

Manifest destiny, claimed as a holy grail
Westward expansion, such a bitter trail
Treaties never mattered, devoid of any trust
Broken dreams were shattered, crumbling in the dust

Today’s new robber barons born of greed and so deranged
Hiding in the shadows, their motives haven’t changed
Still unashamed to rig the game, citizens beware
Lest all our heartfelt hopes and dreams become our own nightmare

(chorus)

Manifest destiny, claimed as a holy grail
Westward expansion, such a bitter trail
Treaties never mattered, devoid of any trust
Broken dreams were shattered, crumbling in the dust

My Wretched Hallelujah

It’s just a tiny reprobate
A nuisance of a curse
Ignoring its no use at all
In fact it makes it worse
A token inconsistency
From seasons long ago
A teeny tiny reprobate
A pebble of a show

(chorus)

My wretched hallelujah
A taste of soured wine
Fumbling through eternity
Searching scattered time
Gambling with the future
Meddling with the past
My broken hallelujah
Good things never last

A life gone by refuse to die
From memory's too strong
Indelible the squids black ink
A terror straight from wrong
A phantom of a silhouette
A slice too deep to heal
No potion found is strong enough
To cauterize the feel

(chorus)

My wretched hallelujah
A taste of soured wine
Fumbling through eternity
Searching scattered time
Gambling with the future
Meddling with the past
My broken hallelujah
Good things never last

(bridge)

A nasty tiny reprobate
A sleazy slimy sloth
A passing hearse and northing worse
To always pay the cost

(chorus)

My wretched hallelujah
A taste of soured wine
Fumbling through eternity
Searching scattered time
Gambling with the future
Meddling with the past
My broken hallelujah
Good things never last

For the Child

It's the son who begs forgiveness who’s mother's faith seems forced
Are there any here who've never steered their ship off course?
It's the blind who feed the beggars when the cripple's crutch is tossed
It's the poor who ring the church bells when the gift of love is lost

(Chorus)

When the madmen rule the chambers & the arc of history fades
It’s the time the truth remembers how all progress is made
We come roaring to the surface with a message bold and wild
When the madmen rule the chambers we must stand up for the child

In the dawning of the windswept anniversary of mankind
They came running with the blankets wrapping Jesus deep inside
He had finished all his suffering and had left it all behind
At the dawning of the windswept anniversary of mankind

(Chorus)

When the madmen rule the chambers & the arc of history fades
It’s the time the truth remembers how all progress is made
We come roaring to the surface with a message bold and wild
When the madmen rule the chambers we must stand up for the child

(Bridge)

It's the innocence of childhood where we see reality
That forever shapes the vision to become who we must be

(Chorus)
When the madmen rule the chambers & the arc of history fades
It’s the time the truth remembers how all progress is made
We come roaring to the surface with a message bold and wild
When the madmen rule the chambers we must stand up for the child

Magic Sam

We find ourselves walking through
A door nobody opened
Silver linings on the stage
Illusory notions
Expectations shattered
As the cards shuffle themselves
A little this, a little that
What it seems is something else

(chorus)

The Master of Illusion
Here comes Magic Sam
Prestidigitation
Delighting eye of man
A duo team, a mystery scene
How is it that he can?
(This) Master of Illusion
Here Comes Magic Sam
He thought his love was evidence
Of fireflies in a jar
His only passion ever known
Was life inside a bar
He drank his way to Nowheresville
Fell off many a stool
Magic tricks and loneliness
For now will have to do

State of the Union

Fears cast in doubt, what are they for, not really sure, soon they’ll be more
When you are young, they sharpen their teeth, as you grow older, they leave like a thief
Life is a process, conscience a curse, will it be better, after the worst

Mankind is reeling, earth choking fast, humanity lingers, how long can it last
Give us a break, let’s find a cure, state of the union is so insecure

Fish keep on dying, poles heating up, Congress immobile, tell me what’s up?
Shovel and plunder, ruin and rack, drinking and druggin’, help us get back
Hacking off feelings, numb and sublime, gone are the answers, gone is the time

Mankind is reeling, earth choking fast, humanity lingers, how long can it last
Give us a break, let’s find a cure, state of the union is so insecure

Mothers have children, fathers get lost, society’s losing, we all pay the cost
Grandparents wonder, why are we here, heaven’s all full now, our future’s unclear

Mankind is reeling, earth choking fast, humanity lingers, how long can it last
Give us a break, let’s find a cure, state of the union is so insecure
Give us a break, let’s find a cure, state of the union is so insecure

Shunning

She's a stunning, unbecoming outcast for all time
Unforgiven, fully driven by imagined crime
Crowd's now foaming, start the stoning, devil left behind
She's a stunning, unbecoming outcast for all time

Wrapped in sorrow, life move's on, now it's not the same
Sins move over, fate's been drawn, living with her shame
And moreover, her swan song eschews her evil fame
Now her life of clover's over, cost of the blame game

(chorus)

When a Giggle Runs Too Deep

She's a giggle in a quiet church
A smile within the Nave
When life feels like it has no worth
She turns another page
She’s a mistress flaunting principle
A blessing and a curse
Reminding me I must not fail
Changing better from the worst

(chorus)

I will follow her to Heaven's Gate
Ignoring fear or shame
She's my conscience and my only fate
That no excuse can blame
My compass and my one true north
To guide me twixt and tween
I will follow her forever
When I wake inside this dream

A passing monk upon the stoop
Heard a prophet speaking loud
As he prayed upon his holy beads
Aligned within his shroud
The only voice he'd ever heard
That answered all his prayers
A giggle and a holy smile
floating through the air

(chorus)

I will follow her to Heaven's gate
Ignoring fear or shame
She's my conscience and my only fate
That no excuse can blame
My compass and my one true north
To guide me twixt and tween
I will follow her forever
When I wake inside this dream

It’s the dream inside a dream, the nectar of true sleep
Foretelling special secrets when a giggle runs too deep

(chorus)

I will follow her to Heaven's gate
Ignoring fear or shame
She's my conscience and my only fate
That no excuse can blame
My compass and my one true north
To guide me twixt and tween
I will follow her forever
When I wake inside this dream
I will follow her forever
When I wake inside this dream

Marching

It comes marching in the morning; it comes crashing thru the sea
The essence of abnormal; it shreds our liberty
Churchmen beg forgivness as our souls are scattered wide
Even gods now run in circles fearing crisis of their pride

(Chorus)

Every mother's child is weeping...Every father's worst nightmare
Its a global immolation as the fire sucks our air
It's a bloody re-enactment; though there'll never be a truce
It's the dying of our planet, evolutionary truth

We must stummble through the darkness; now the sun has ceased to shine
Tripping over fallen heroes even leaving love behind
We can hear their boots approaching; we can smell their fiery breath
It's the dawn of new creation putting mankind to the test

(chorus)

When fair warning was upon us, we just looked the other way
Letting profit mongers dictate, leaders giving them full sway

Don't you dare beg for forgiveness, don't you dare apologize
Your legacy of apathy dulls sparkle in your eyes
Can you even spell the word, do you just what you’ve missed?
Your world is now in shambles; you ignored the scientists

(chorus)

Snake in the Grass

Raping the innocent, robbing the poor
Those liars and shysters straight shooters abhor
Watch what you sign...Beware the fine print
Too good to be true? It probably isn't!

Chorus

Snake in the grass...Ready to strike
It may be legal, but you know it ain't right
Slithers with greed that can’t be charmed
Snake in the grass, can do you real harm

Business is loaded with weasels and fakes
Wheelin' and stealin'....Causin' heartaches
Those who've been had know what that's all about
Scammers abound and of that there's no doubt

Chorus

Snake in the grass...Ready to strike
It may be legal, but you know it ain't right
Slithers with greed that can’t be charmed
Snake in the grass, can do you real harm

Screw me on tuesday, on wednesday some more
Snake in the grass, a bait and switch whore

Chorus

Snake in the grass...Ready to strike
It may be legal, but you know it ain't right
Slithers with greed that can’t be charmed
Snake in the grass, can do you real harm
Snake in the grass…. Hisssss can do you real harm
Snake in the grass…hissss can do you real harm

Dancing on Tombstones

Chiseled soulless faces
Restless on the run
Surely all this fame
Someday must come undone
Pissing on those gone
Harmless midnight fun
Whisky pledge compliance
Older now than young

(chorus)

Cemetery promises
Life defying dreams
Don’t you dare stop teasing me
With all your pesky schemes
Cemetery promises
Dancing on Tombstones
Feckless Mortuary
Six feet under ground
Undertaker traveler
See what I have found
Real life living replica
Sleepwalking instead
Here I find fulfillment
Speaking with the dead

(repeat chorus)

Gone Missing

I lost my way on Tremont with the sun burning the sky
Something dear to me had vanished and I knew the reason why
Searching in the doorways, bereft and beaten down
I was lost and had gone missing on this journey to be found

(chorus)

I had to lose my vision before I could find my sight
It was flawed and it was tattered and it never fit quite right
Misplaced and long forgotten like an old book on the shelf
I had to lose my way before I came to find myself
I had lost my way before, but not as bad as this
The stares of grave suspicion made my family seem quite miffed
There were steps too high for me to climb upon this winding path
I was lost and had gone missing in a storm of righteous wrath

(chorus)

I had to lose my vision before I could find my sight
It was flawed and it was tattered and it never fit quite right
Misplaced and long forgotten like an old book on the shelf
I had to lose my way before I came to find myself

If all the glass stained windows cast a rainbow shaft of light
All the monks and all the prophets couldn’t even set things right
Fallen Angels found forgiveness when their sins became atoned
But the harshest judge of all is the one when I’m alone

(chorus)

I had to lose my vision before I could find my sight
It was flawed and it was tattered and it never fit quite right
Misplaced and long forgotten like an old book on the shelf
I had to lose my way before I came to find myself

Undertaker's Daughter

The undertaker’s daughter
Had a thing for older men
Perhaps her parent’s fighting
Made her crave more discipline
She pranced around the mourners
Acting sexy & demure
The undertaker’s daughter
Had an itch she longed to cure

(chorus)

I have learned that boys are not really men
Just a dusty shadow of this world we’re living in
Give me what I long for, show me what I crave
I’m old enough for learning, and young enough to save
I took her to the alter
Of an old abandoned church
Trying to see if just some praying
Might relieve her of this thirst
She had just turned seventeen
Her dad had taught her right and wrong
The undertaker’s daughter
Purred and hummed my favorite song

(chorus)

I have learned that boys are not really men
Just a dusty shadow of this world we’re living in
Give me what I long for, show me what I crave
I’m old enough for learning, and young enough to save

I have learned that boys are not really men
Just a dusty shadow of this world we’re living in
Give me what I long for, show me what I crave
I’m old enough for learning, and young enough to save

Highway Denied

The past and the present; gasping last breath
Stuck on unpleasant memories of death
Road's all washed up, prayers beyond sighs
Bittersweet visions, highway denied

(Chorus)

Does anyone know, does anyone care
How much of a soul can anyone bear?
Gorged on the sounds of guilt ridden cries
The past and the future's highway denied

Now that it's gone there's no turning back
Broken the bond; unsealed the pack
A roll of the dice, lost common sense
Gambling with a life; dropped all pretense

(Chorus)
Does anyone know, does anyone care
How much of a soul can anyone bear?
Gorged on the sounds of guilt ridden cries
The past and the future's highway denied

Break

Bridge

The toll booth to heaven abandoned and shut
A poisoned, unleavened madman's hut

Chorus

Does anyone know, does anyone care
How much of a soul can anyone bear?
Gorged on the sounds of guilt ridden cries
The past and the future's highway denied